The government wants you to get a My Number card. Should you?

Staff writer

My Number personal identification cards are again a topic of widespread conversation following digital minister Taro Kono's recent announcement of plans to essentially phase out national health insurance cards by integrating them into My Number cards by the fall of 2024.

The move would give previously hesitant members of the public virtually no other option but to create My Number cards, which feature a chip storing personal information.

First introduced in 2016 and billed as a way to enhance public convenience, develop a fairer and more just society, and improve administrative efficiency, My Number cards are linked to the holder's individual 12-digit ID number, making them a key element of the government's social security and tax collection infrastructure.

This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.

Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this FAQ.

We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.

Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ